I storm through the corridors, my boots clapping against the polished floors as servants quickly scatter out of my way.

The guards snap to my attention outside the council room and open the doors. I notice Aeris first, casually leaning back in his seat he leans forward suddenly, snapping to attention at my sudden entrance. Alvaryn beside him watches me as I enter. I turn to my father who sits at the head of the table, the council meeting having been alerted to my arrival and all waiting for my return.

"Well?" Father asks with a wary expression.

"His letter was true, the humans have joined with him, thousands of them, all of them wearing fae colours and carrying Nievenyth banners." I answer, moving further into the room to take my seat at his right hand side.

He lets out a heavy sigh, brow furrowed as the other members turn to each other.

"How many do they have all together?" Father asks as I take my seat.

"Seventy thousand, plus horses and catapults, plenty of provisions to survive for months." I answer, muscles tight and body exhausted from the hard ride. I hadn't been able to relax since I saw their army and the size of it. I don't know what I had expected when I began my ride. In all honesty I had hoped he was lying, proclaiming to have the humans on his side to scare us. When we had found their camp and I had seen their numbers I knew he was not lying or boasting. They now had a larger army than ours, it looked like all the human villages and cities had joined them.

"And we have only forty thousand." Father replies turning to me for confirmation, I nod once in reply.

"We can call on our allies to send more men." Varis says, expression serious.

Father nods. "Yes, send out word that we will require as many men as they can send."

"There's more." I say quietly as the room turns its attention to me. "I saw both Arden and Callin at the battle camp. I had expected Arden to lead the army but I didn't think Callin would leave his kingdom."

"That must mean he has an heir." Alvaryn says leaning forward slightly. "He wouldn't leave the safety of the palace if he didn't have an heir to take his place."

"Well that is news that may help us later on, but for now we must focus on the fact that both of them will be on the battlefield, their magic is strong, and we do not know of what other types of dark magic their soldiers have." Father says sternly.

"Most of their magic only works at close range, we can use that to our advantage." Aeris replies.

Alvaryn nods in agreement, no doubt already forming strategies and plans of attack in his mind.

"We wiped out much of their army at our last battle Your Majesty, those that fight with him now will not be their best warriors. And the humans have no magic and are easily killed." Varis adds.

Alvaryn tenses beside me and I notice his hard expression focussed on Varis, Aeris too is staring at Varis like he just suggested we start murdering children. Perhaps it was at his mention of how easy humans are to kill because of their relationship with Daella. Had they now grown an affinity for all humans?

"True, but we cannot take any risks. We were fortunate in our last battle with them, but we do not know what they plan for this attack. Callin must have something up his sleeve if he is attacking us after all this time and the defeat they suffered." Father sighs again, his broad shoulders hunched over in concentration.

"What if there was a way we could turn the humans against Nievenyth?" I ask out loud looking for my father's reaction.

"What do you mean?"

"Well what if we could give them what they want, return the women from the last offering and broker a new treaty with them, a new agreement where we could still take some of their women but they would get more in return, or we would wait longer to collect the women? Something that would make them reconsider fighting with Nievenyth." The thought had stayed with me as I rode home after seeing their army. All they had asked for was their daughters returned. What if we gave them what they asked for and they refused to fight? It would give us the advantage. Our army would out number Nievenyth.

Father sighs heavily. "Returning the women would mean losing the selection and having to wait longer to secure heirs for our kingdom."

"And what if not all the women want to return?" Aeris asks, leaning forward in his chair.

"So what? You think they should be given the choice?" I ask in return.

"Of course they should, they are still people, they should have a choice in where they live." Aeris snaps back.

"You weren't so concerned with their choices when they were offered to us." I bite back and hear another heavy sigh from my father.

"That isn't the same thing." He turns in his chair, leaning around Alvaryn to glare at me.

"Enough!" Father growls. "Your useless bickering isn't going to solve anything." I stare back at Aeris, his near black eyes sending daggers at me but I don't look away.

Alvaryn leans forward blocking my view as he looks at both of us with a serious expression. I sigh, shaking my head but relent, leaning back in my chair. Father was right, useless bickering wouldn't solve anything.

"We cannot give into Callin's demands." He says, words heavy and decision made. "While the idea of convincing the human army to turn away from Nievenyth would benefit us they have already made their decision. They will suffer the same consequences as Nievenyth."

I feel the wood of the chair arms under my hands as I grip the ends. He didn't want to give the humans a way out of the war ahead, he wanted them to understand the consequences their choices had made.

I had only felt the responsibility as acting King for days, I couldn't imagine what kind of pressure he would be feeling in this moment, and if I would be ready for it when they day came for me to take his place.

"Well, there is no time to lose. Demwyn you will make sure all our forces are ready to move out by the weeks end, we won't waste any more time waiting for them to make more progress, we will meet them on the battlefield. Varis you will send out word to our allies and have our allies meet us on the battlefield. Rygen, Hanley, I want your divisions with Demwyn." Father orders, his words strong and confident. The two council members nod, looking at me in confirmation. "Alvaryn, Aeris, you will both stand by Demwyn and each lead a battalion as you have in the past. You will work together to defeat our enemy and payback Callin and Arden for their attack on our Kingdom and your mother."

He doesn't mention the attack on Daella and I can see Alvaryn's fist squeeze together on the table in front of him. He might feel the affront of the slight against Daella but he wouldn't mention it, at least not now.

"Ten days." Varis says quietly and I turn to him.

"What?" Father asks.

"Ten days, the letter we received from Callin said we had ten days. With your journey to their kingdom," He pauses, looking at me. "our ten days will be up the day after tomorrow. We will need to send our response by raven to make it to them in time." He explains.

Father nods. "Very well, send our response. Tell King Callin that we refuse his demands, that we will not take his attack lightly and that he and those who fight with him should prepare to feel the full wrath of our Kingdom."

"Of course, Your Majesty." Varis nods.

The decision had been made, we were going to war. After years of peace, of growing our kingdom, we were once again heading towards the battlefield and while I would never encourage war or the unnecessary loss of life I can't deny a sense of rightness. I had been bred for war, trained to lead armies, fighting was my purpose and knowing I would be able to once again fulfil it felt right.

"Father," I say quietly once the other council members and my brothers had left. Varis hesitates as he always does, needing to hear every snippet of information, be involved in every conversation. "Can I have a word in private?" I ask as he stands. He nods, waving his hand at Varis in dismissal.

He waits until the doors close behind Varis' retreating shape before turning to me.

"What is it?"

"Your decision to put the human kingdom in with Nievenyth, do you think that is the best decision?" I ask warily. I know the decision has been made, that his word is final, but I couldn't help but think there was something he wasn't seeing.

He nods. "Yes, they have gone against a treaty they signed with us. They could have come to us, spoken to us, requested a new treaty, but instead they have sided with our enemy. Their fates are sealed."

"But what about after the war?" I ask. "What happens after we have won the war and King Callin and Prince Arden have been dealt with and their Kingdom has been bought under ours? What will happen to the remaining humans in their kingdom if we kill all their men? Do you think they will survive? Do you think they will still willingly offer their women to us?"

His eyes harden and expression softens as he takes in my words.

"There will be a great loss, of that there is no doubt. The human men that fight against us will die by the thousands but as always there will be a chance for them to surrender. They will not have sent all their men to fight, there will be those left behind to care for the women, children and elderly. Once the war is over and we have gained control over the usurpers a new treaty will be made, new rules will be put in place. It will become a good lesson for the humans, a reminder to who they owe their lands to and a testament of our generosity if we continue to let them live in it."

He stands close to the table, hand holding himself up, still not fully recovered but doing his best to present himself unharmed. I could always see myself in him, not just our appearance which I know is similar but our very personalities, our ways of being. We were both raised to be leaders, to make decisions and wear a crown, a heavy burden. But right now I can't help but see the stark difference as well.

"So you plan to rule over the human kingdom as well?" I ask, trying desperately to understand his ideas of what our future will look like.

"The war will change much. We will take care of Callin and Arden so they will have no ruler, Nievenyth will be bought under our command. If Callin does have an heir as Alvaryn suggests then they too will be bought under our control until they come of age and a future can be guaranteed where they will look after Nievenyth as a guardian, not a ruler." He answers, his words quiet but sure, like he has given this future a lot of thought. "The humans will lose many of their men, what is left will be allowed to return to their homes but they will no longer have our trust to rule themselves as a separate entity. We knew they were selfish, fickle beings, but this, going against us, it crosses a line. They too will come under our command and we will work together to remake our Kingdoms so they can live side by side."

I take a small step back, somewhat in shock by his words. He wanted to rule the human kingdom, that has never happened. Once we had lived together, centuries ago, and then we had separated and lived in our own kingdoms with our own set of rules. The treaty was the first to bring us back together in hundreds of years, a small agreement that created amnesty between our kingdoms. But this, this was something altogether different. He didn't want to make a new treaty, or create a new set of rules, he wanted to rule over them.

We would wipe out their fighting men and then when it was all over and those who survived stumbled back into their lands beaten and broken they would be forced into a new world. Was father right? Is it simply the price they paid for turning against us? Would it be safer and smarter to command them instead of let them simper and stew and become angry at their losses and all the new rules and treaties they will be helpless but to agree to.

"You disagree?" He asks studying me closely.

I shake my head, mind still trying to wrap around the idea of ruling the human kingdom. "I don't disagree, only, ruling the human kingdom, are you sure it can be done? Even if we do kill a large portion of their men, we would then be responsible for all those left behind. Women, children, the elderly. We would have to ensure they have food and shelter, protection. It would drain much of our resources. Not to mention taking over Nievenyth which is even further away, and what of their human kingdom? We would be responsible for them as well? Are you sure we are not spreading our reach too far? What will the other fae kingdoms say? Will they accept us ruling over Nievenyth and the humans in their lands?" All the thoughts and questions spill out as they circle through my mind.

My father smiles, reaching out to take hold of my shoulder.

"It is good to see you thinking like a King Demwyn, you are worried for our future, preparing for the consequences of our decisions, these are all essential qualities in a good ruler, but there is much you still have to learn. We have many houses in our Kingdom, houses that can be used to oversee other lands. We have males trained for war who spend most of their days standing at attention and guarding the palace against nothing and no one. While it has never been done that does not mean it is not possible. It will be a great change, and yes there will be those who may disagree, the humans may not go along with the change easily, but they will see it for what it is, a better future, a change that is for their best interest. We will be spread out further into our world and have more responsibility, something you will one day inherit, but with time and guidance we will build a stronger future, not only for our people, but for those who are yet to come under our wing."

I nod slowly, still struggling to accept everything he had just said and the future he envisioned but feeling like as King he must know best. He has always ruled our kingdom fairly, provided our people with a safe and comfortable home. This new future would surely be another good decision. Perhaps I cannot see it as clearly as he can as I have not lived as long as him or have the experience he has.

"It is a lot to take in all at once my son, do not fear, it will not happen all at once. First and foremost I want you to focus on your duty, prepare our army and lead them as you have done so well in the past. All that follows will happen in its time, don't let yourself become caught up in what you cannot see, that is not your responsibility just yet, leave that to me." He smiles, patting my shoulder. "Now, I am going to visit with your mother. I will see you in the morning."

I stand in the silent council room, head still spinning, thoughts circling around on themselves, churning over and over.

I let out an exhausted sigh.

He was right. I shouldn't be trying to look into the future, it wasn't my responsibility, not yet at least. I would focus on my duty and lead our army with my brother's at my side.

Whatever follows will happen in its own time and I will have faith in my father's decisions to make our kingdom stronger.